The Time Lord of Christmas Past
by Reach4thestars19
Summary: How did the Doctor know about what Rose got from Santa when she was 12? Set after "The Unquiet Dead" with a reference from "The Doctor Dances".


"…cranberry sauce all over the kitchen," Rose laughed. She was still wearing the dress she had worn when they visited Charles Dickens, though she had taken her hair out of the twist it had been in, letting it fall past her shoulders.

While the Doctor probably wouldn't have originally found her story funny, he smiled back at Rose, her good mood was almost contagious. She was always so excited and full of life. He was glad that she had chosen to travel with him. He hadn't had a companion for awhile and though he hadn't thought much of her at first, a shop girl almost killed by plastic, he really had gotten fond of the human who had seen the end of Earth with him and the one who had almost died with him in a Cardiff basement.

"So Father Christmas probably brought you coal," he said, teasing her.

Rose looked at him, as if momentarily surprised to hear him joking. He supposed he often was serious, but that didn't mean he couldn't tease. Then, the surprise was gone, so fast as if it had never been there. "I never got coal," she protested, smile back on her features. "Father Christmas and Mum were always good to me. Even that year. It was Christmas Eve. I suppose it was too late to make the naughty list because I got something I wanted that year," she informed then trailed off, almost thoughtfully. "It must have been someone like Father Christmas because even Mum was surprised…" she trailed off then gave a shake of her head.

The Doctor gave her questioning look. "What was it?"

"Oh, nothing. You know the gifts kids ask for," Rose answered. "Besides, this…" she waved her hand to take in all of the Tardis. "This is bigger than all the gifts I've ever had. You've given me gifts that could never go under the Christmas tree. I have gotten to travel through time and space. It's been fantastic." She grinned, and then glanced down at her clothing. "Though I think I might go change into something more comfortable," she said. "I'll be right back."

The Doctor nodded and watched her walk down the hall. He decided to wait for her so they could both decide where and when to go. While he waited, he worked on some things on the Tardis. There seemed to always be something that needed to be tinkered with or fixed. It was hard with just one Time Lord, since a Time Lord was the only one who could properly fix the Tardis. Being the last one meant he had to fix the Tardis by himself.

He lost track of time under the console as he fixed some of the wiring. It was something he had started before plastic decided to come alive, but had put off until now. After he finished rerouting the coolant, he slid out from under the console and noticed Rose still wasn't back. It couldn't take her that long to change, could it? It took her awhile to get ready when she wore the 19th century dress, but this long to change into a shirt, jeans and trainers?

Wondering if she had gotten lost on the Tardis, since it was large, he went looking for her. He knew he should stop in her room first, but his route took him by the kitchen so that was his first stop. Rose wasn't there and before he turned to leave, he momentarily paused, looking for any sign of an incident with cranberry sauce, even though she said it happened when she was twelve. He didn't see any. In fact there wasn't any sign that Rose had been to the kitchen recently. He turned and continued the hall to her room.

He paused outside her room and knocked, but there was no answer. "Rose?" he called, but the only answer was silence. He tried the door handle and found it wasn't locked. He opened the door and looked in. Even if she wasn't there, there might be a sign of her, so he would know if she had at least come back to her room or not. Maybe the dress was laid out on the bed.

Looking inside the room, he noted that the light was on, then he saw the dress and it was lying on the bed. Yet not as he expected. It was on the bed because Rose was lying on the bed, still wearing the dress, fast asleep. She was lying on top of the blankets, apparently she had sat down to take off the shoes which were on the floor next to the bed, but she hadn't gotten further than that when she laid down. She looked peaceful, with her head resting the pillow, her loose blonde hair framed her face. There as no sign of trouble on her features, no furrowed brow or frown to show that problems and bothers of the outside world were invading her dreams.

The Doctor couldn't help wondering what it was like to feel so peaceful. He hadn't felt peaceful in a long time, even when he was asleep, if his nightmares were any indication. He was grateful when his sleep was dreamless. Then his memories only plagued his waking hours.

However, since he met Rose, he had felt himself feeling better than he had before. They had only travelled twice, once to the future and once to the past, but it was much better with her by his side. Sharing the adventure was much better than when he had been travelling alone. She was his "plus one" and enjoyed having her with him.

He silently walked to the foot of bed and picked up a blanket that had been folded there. He shook it once to unfold it and, being careful not to wake her, he laid it over her.

She gave a small sigh in her sleep, shifting under the blanket. The Doctor froze and held his breath. Luckily, she didn't wake up and her deep, even breathing resumed.

Walking slowly to the door, he paused and glanced back at Rose. Then, he dimmed the lights before closing the door behind him. He could have woken her up, but she needed the sleep. More sleep than a Time Lord did and even he was starting to feel tired. It wasn't a surprise because they had experienced a very exciting evening with Charles Dickens.

As the Doctor walked back to the main area of the Tardis, he decided that he would pick a destination and next time, Rose could give her input. As he walked, he found his mind going back to the conversation he and Rose had before she had left to change clothes. She hadn't answered his question about Christmas. Maybe she didn't feel it was important, but Rose was not the sort to hold her tongue about anything.

This made his decision. He approached the console and entered a date and time into the Tardis. With a pull of a lever, they were flying through time and space. He didn't know what made him want to do this. He told himself that he wanted to satisfy his curiosity. He was used to getting answers.

The Tardis landed with just a slight bump and the Doctor waited a few minutes to see if it had woken up Rose. However, she didn't appear, so walked down the ramp, opened the door and stepped outside of the Tardis. He was close to Rose's flat, the one she shared with her Mum. If he had the calculations right, and he was certain he was due to the strands of lights and Christmas trees that he saw, it was Christmas Eve.

Armed with his sonic screwdriver, he got into the flat easily enough, being very quiet. It was after midnight and he knew if Rose's mum saw him, he'd be thrown in jail. Not that he couldn't get out of jail, but it would definitely make this a difficult and much longer than anticipated trip.

There were no gifts under the tree yet and the Doctor knew he would have to look in Rose's mum's room to find them. If sneaking around the flat would get him arrested, he wondered what would happen if he were found in Rose's mum's room. He might have to regenerate when she got done with him.

The Doctor thought about Rose, asleep in the Tardis and the twelve year old version of her, who was probably also asleep just a few meters away.

He wandered into the kitchen and used his sonic screwdriver to turn on the lights, but not as bright as usual. He wanted to keep them low, so he wouldn't wake up younger Rose or her mum. When he could see the room better, he noticed there were remnants of cranberry sauce and he couldn't help a low chuckle. After the story Rose told, he supposed it was humorous.

He wondered how he could figure out what Rose was talking about. He couldn't very well go snooping around in the bedrooms. Waiting for inspiration, his eyes scanned the kitchen, taking note of the little things. It wasn't a big kitchen or one that really seemed out of the ordinary, aside from some of the red cranberry stains. As his eyes swept over the counter, his gaze fell on a piece of paper. This caught his attention, though he wasn't sure why. He walked over to it and picked it up. There was a list of things on there with Rose's name at the top of it. The top item listed was a red bicycle. It was circled and the Doctor saw that the other items had check marks by them. So that meant there was only one thing missing. The bicycle.

The Doctor thought back to the conversation, remembering that Rose had said even her mum was surprised. That meant her mum hadn't gotten it. At that moment the Doctor realized what he had to do as well as what he had already done, because Rose remembered it.

Twelve year old Rose wanted a red bicycle and he was going to get it for her. One way or another. It surprised him how important this was to him. He saved worlds and whole civilizations. He had met all kinds of people from royalty to the lowliest peasant in a small village. He had met those who believed they had no power and those who believed they were gods. He had met people who believed they were heroes and their villains, who had a differing viewpoint. He watched them battle, each side thinking the other was wrong. Then there was this. Just a little girl who wanted a red bicycle. After everything he had experienced, why was this so important to him? Then realization hit him. He was certain he was the one that got her the bike and if he didn't get it for her, things might change. Rose's entire life could change because of not receiving this gift. It meant that he might never have met Rose. One small thing like not getting a bike might change the course of history. He might have died when confronting the Nestene Consciousness. Even if she had saved him, not getting the bicycle could change her. He knew that he didn't want to risk that. She was better than a number of humans he'd met in the past. He didn't want her to change. Flaws and all, he wanted Rose to be just the way she was.

Turning off the kitchen light, the Doctor snuck out of the flat. He made sure the front door was locked behind him, and then walked through the light dusting of snow back to the Tardis. He noticed that there were no other footprints aside from his, which meant Rose, if she was awake, hadn't left. When he entered, he saw nothing had changed. Rose might still be asleep and he hoped that she would stay asleep a bit longer.

He programmed another date and time into the controls of the Tardis and it didn't take long to arrive at the destination. It was a week before that Christmas and the Tardis was now in an alley by a building. He hoped this didn't take too long. He gave a wary glance over his shoulder, looking for Rose but not seeing her. Still asleep then.

Stepping onto the main street, the Doctor was among the crowds who were attempting to finish their Christmas shopping as soon as possible. He didn't mind crowds. He had been in bigger ones before. However, he wanted to finish his task at hand as soon as possible. He glanced to the right, then to the left. He paused, and then turned to the right.

The first part of that task was getting money. Maybe he could use the psychic paper to convince people it was a credit card with the sonic screwdriver to transfer funds. It might work, but it was best not to chance it. Instead, he went to an automatic teller machine and using the sonic screwdriver, took some money out of the machine. He never carried money with him and he didn't have a bank account. Which planet would he get it on and in what time period? Things changed too fast. Besides, after saving the world a few times, why shouldn't he have a few quid?

Though the Doctor didn't know what all of the stores were, those changed more frequently than money and banks. Luckily, there was a bicycle store nearby and he entered. It wasn't as busy as some of the other stores, only about four people looking at the bicycles and accessories, so an employee came over almost immediately. "Can I help you find something?" the man, whose name tag read 'Dave', asked.

"I need a red bike for a twelve year old girl," the Doctor answered, getting straight to the point.  
The man nodded and led him further into the store. "These are our selections of bikes that would be suitable for a twelve year old girl," he gave a wave of his hands at the racks in front of him.

The Doctor looked at them, surprised at how different the bikes could be. He had ridden them more than once, but he never actually had to buy one. There were bicycles that seemed simple and others that had ways to gears that were changed by controls on the handlebars. Some had brakes that worked when a person pedalled backward and some had brakes on the handlebars, which had to be squeezed.

His choice became easier when he saw that there were only two red bikes. One of them seemed like it was made for someone who would be spending a lot of time in the mountains with the different gears on the handlebars. He hadn't known Rose long, but that didn't seem suitable for her. That left the other one. It was a normal bike and seemed like the best choice of the ones there.

"That one," he pointed.

Dave nodded and pulled it off the rack. "Excellent choice. I am sure she will enjoy it."  
"I hope so," the Doctor answered. He walked to the cashier and paid; glad he had enough, though only barely, since he only had a few pounds left over.

He wheeled the bike outside, stepping to the side as best he could as a woman with blonde hair, walked by. He recognized her as Rose's mother and noticed the girl with her, who looked around twelve years old. The girl paused looking at the bike, then up at the Doctor. Her eyes locked with his for just a brief moment and he realized that they were a familiar shade of brown. Very familiar. Then she broke the gaze and looked at the bike.

"It's a lovely bic-"she started

"Rose, come along," the woman interrupted. Jackie. Rose had said her name was Jackie Tyler.  
Rose, who could only be a younger Rose Tyler, sighed before following her mother. She paused a few meters away and glanced once more over her shoulder at the man with the bike before turning her attention forward again, walking down the sidewalk with her mother.

The Doctor paused, wondering briefly if he had somehow changed history. Though if that was the case, wouldn't he already know? Sometimes history could be a tricky thing. There were some fixed points in history. Fixed points he couldn't change. For example, the Titanic had to sink on its maiden voyage. He could have changed it, but that was a major event with a fixed point in time. He doubted this was one of those. In fact, when she saw him seven years in the future, the Doctor doubted Rose would even recognize him as the man from the bike shop.

He shook his head away from his thoughts. He needed to get back to the current Rose Tyler, who might or might not have still been asleep. He also had to leave this time and place. If the younger Rose met her future self he knew that would create a terrible paradox. One that could possibly be disastrous. He walked quickly, guiding the bike, wheeling it beside him.

Getting onto the Tardis, he set the bike down and then turned his attention back to the controls. Time for one more trip. He returned to the same place he had been before, outside the Tyler's flat, just an hour later so it was in the very early morning of Christmas. He didn't pause to see if Rose was awake. He knew it would be best to get inside the flat, leave the bike and get back to the Tardis.

It was harder to get inside with the bike, since he had to carry it up the stairs. Not that he couldn't. Far from it. It was just more difficult. He used his sonic screwdriver to get into the flat and then carried the bike to the tree. He lowered the kickstand with his foot, then slowly let go. He didn't want it to fall because a crash would certainly wake people up and after successfully sneaking in earlier, he didn't want to end up in jail now.

Once he was certain it was stable, he brushed off his hands. Not bad. He turned to leave and then paused. Something compelled him to walk past the door and toward Rose's room. He wasn't certain where it was, but he had seen a bit of the flat when he had tracked down the plastic arm.

He found her room on the first try. It wasn't hard since the door was open a few inches and with the small amount of light coming in through the window, he could see her. She was certainly the same Rose he had met when he left the bicycle shop.

He was struck by the fact that she looked as peaceful as she looked on the Tardis. Untroubled. Even after the adventures she would have in seven years, she would still look peaceful. He smiled then whispered. "Merry Christmas, Rose."

The girl didn't even stir in her sleep and the Doctor smiled. He left the flat quickly, locking the door once more with the sonic screwdriver. He noticed his own footprints from an hour earlier as he walked toward the Tardis. Again, his footprints were the only ones.

Stepping into the Tardis, he approached the controls, entering in new coordinates. He pulled the lever and as they left that time and place, he felt a strange sense of accomplishment that he had pulled that off. It was domestic, something he never was, but he supposed, just this once, it was alright to be domestic.

"I can't believe I fell asleep."

A voice jarred him from his thoughts and he turned to face Rose who was dressed in jeans, a hoodie and trainers. The same clothes she had been wearing when she first entered the Tardis.

"You weren't sleeping long," he responded.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked, clearly troubled that she might have.

"No," he answered. "Just did a little rewiring and was just deciding where to go next. Any thoughts?" He wouldn't tell her about the stop he made for her, giving her that bike. Maybe one day, he would. Until then, she could keep believing it was Father Christmas or her mum, whichever she preferred.

Rose pondered this over, biting her lip in concentration before she answered. "There's a lot I'd like to see, but maybe I can go see Mum first. Just to see her."

The Doctor paused. "You want to go home?" He felt his hearts skip a beat. After all that she wanted to go home?

"Not for good," Rose protested. "Just for a short visit. Maybe stay for tea and pack so I've got more clothes." She paused and pressed her lips together, stealing a sidewise glance at the Doctor before adding. "Unless you want me to stay there."

"No, I'd like you to come," the Doctor answered quickly, glad that she planned on coming back. "There's a lot more to see."

"I'm sure there is." Rose smiled. "The Doctor plus one."

The Doctor nodded, then said, "The Doctor and Rose."

Rose's grin grew even larger, brown eyes sparkling. "I like that even better."

The Doctor smiled as well and plotted a familiar course, yet a different year and time. "So, you'll get some tea, put some clothes in a bag, then we are off to…" he paused. "How does another trip to the future sound?"

"It sounds fantastic," Rose beamed as she slipped her arm around his, leaning against him. The Doctor was surprised by the fact that she did it, but even more surprised by the fact that he didn't mind. He looked down at her and could imagine that smile must have been similar to the one she was wearing when her twelve year old self celebrated Christmas.

The Doctor glanced at the console, flipped a switch then turned back to Rose, his smile mirroring hers. "Fantastic."


End file.
